Maintainers Facing Fall Fearlessly
 

Time to start a new thread as Maintainers Losing It By Labor Day is getting close to the 500 mark.

Thanks for starting Bargoo. I am determined to take off the extra pounds I've found recently. I think I've finally gotten fed up enough to do something about it.

I am going to try an experiment of avoiding all powdered drink mixes and sugarfree gum for a few days. The former will be easy; the latter, not so much, as gum-chewing has turned into a habit of mine. I pop a stick of sugarfree at those moments when I probably would have eaten a piece of candy or sweet carbs. But I want to see if this reduces swelling in my legs and general fluid retention.

My weigh-in is far better than it was earlier this week, and close to what it was last week. I haven't had a period for several months but I've got symptoms that I associate with PMS, namely, really tender breasts. So there's something hormonal going on. That may also be messing with my weight somewhat.

Thank goodness. I wasn't keen on facing the reckoning of Labour Day just yet, LOL. But for the record, "Fall" shall not include Christmas.

(Note the addition of the 'u' in Labor Day in honor of our Canadian members.)

michele, I get you on the "fed up" feeling! The good part about it is once that feeling sets in, the route gets crystal clear.

saef, good luck with the experiment. Hopefully the hormones won't confound your results too much. I sure would love a couple month's break between TOM ...

allison, I can imagine that 128 was reed-thin on you! 150 is "okay" for me, too, in the right clothes. Jiggly is a good word for it. My 12000 cals/wk is geared for 140; I don't know what that will look like. I do know that each pound I'm taking off now is bringing a difference I can see. This week, it's a bit of arm definition. It's a little like unwrapping a Christmas present. :D

My average is moving in the right direction this week. 3.5 pounds in 8 weeks, which is laughably slow yet to my frame of mind, reassuringly consistent - the math still works! May it continue to work throughout the fall. Fearless!

Hey, thanks! I'm a Canadian freelance writer with both Canadian and American clients, so I'm always having to "watch my u's."

F.

p.s. You forgot the u in "honour.":D

It's starting out to be a good day. Down 1.6 pounds !

bargoo - wow! That definitely kicks off the day right!

There is also a difference between s and z in some words, right?

BTW, it's much too hot for it to be this close to fall.

But I will persevere fearlessly. Hanging onto 151 this week for some strange reason.

Scale is starting to go back in the right direction maybe. Dh leaves today for over two weeks so I have no excuses. I will not waver!

Friday = 1712.5

12000
-1977.3
-1264.7
-1619
-1448.8
-1762.9
-1712.5
= 2214.8 (hope I don't eat THAT much!)

Entering Sept. at 148.5. Probable cause of blip was getting home from work to find DH had just completed a luscious bowl of spicy guacamole. Kinda calorie- dense! I made 12k for the week with about 20 to spare, so I still get my purple star (long story).

Starting September at 124.6. I really want to get back below 120. My "happy" range is 118-120 but it's been months since I've been there. My dh is gone for the next 2 weeks and Tough Mudder is 3 weeks from today so I'm going to focus on clean eating and working out to see if I can make some headway.

Bill- fall DEFINITELY doesn't include Christmas, even if the stupid Christmas stuff hits the stores (and the airwaves) before Halloween these days.
Michele- what on earth is Tough Mudder?
ICU- I associate purple stars with bodily harm; hope that isn't what it means for you. In any case, good going on breaking the mid-140s barrier for the first time since your 30s. That must feel wonderful.

As for me, I'm in the Reno airport, heading out for the first leg of our arduous flight home (stupid Delta changed our nice 2-leg flight to a 3-leg one and simply informed us of the change via email; can't believe that sort of bait-and-switch is legal). I haven't weighed myself in almost 2 weeks, and I'm scared even though I haven't been overeating (my body has an astonishing ability to gain 2-3 pounds in a week when I've "overeaten" by literally not more than 1000 calories beyond maintenance for the week).

Just out of curiousity, how many of you find the "eat this, not that," or "cut your portion in half and skip the breadbasket" type strategy to be helpful? I tried to employ it a few times this trip, but I find it STILL doesn't let me stay at the calorie level I need to maintain, and makes me feel super-sorry for myself besides (e.g., I skipped the bread, asked for the dressing on the side, had no wine OR dessert with dinner, am only eating half of the pasta on my plate, and it's STILL 500 calories of pasta plus whatever calories are in the pasta sauce, the oil on the veggies and the chicken breast-plus-sauce).

Andrea, Delta is not my favorite airline. I won't take the time to go into it here but just say when my mother passed away in another state the only flight my brother and I could get was with Delta. I refer to that flight as the flight from ****. I avoid Delta if anything else is available.

So funny about the Delta problems--DH swears by them. It's United that messed us all up on our latest trip and we booked a flight in January on United--it was supposed to be Palm Springs to Ft. Lauderdale via Houston (what I thought seemed like a good connecting city in the dead of winter). A week after I purchased it, United emailed us stating that the flight was cancelled and to call to rebook--our only alternative was to connect in Denver. In January. If anyone has ever flown there in the winter you KNOW it is a snow hazard. I hope it doesn't ruin THIS cruise!

First day of sugarfree gum and powdered drink avoidance still ended with my feet swollen ... and this morning, the highest weigh-in I've seen since winter. I was horrified and it subtly influenced the rest of my day & not in a good way.

Okay.

I have to go back and find out who posted recommending that I put a teabag into my cold water bottle for a bit of flavor. Thank you, whoever that was: That worked really well. I had some Stash Green Chai and the flavor is excellent, even though I did not think the tea had diffused because the water looked really clear.

I hear you on the pitfalls of trying to be good when traveling. It is hard. You make great choices but the calories are still way higher than what you are used to. I try to do that as often as possible and get in as much exercise as possible-- it usually works pretty well-- when I'm not feeling sorry for myself.

Here is a description of Tough Mudder from their website:

Tough Mudder events are hardcore 10-12 mile obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces to test your all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. With the most innovative courses, half a million inspiring participants, and more than $3 million raised for the Wounded Warrior Project, Tough Mudder is the premier adventure challenge series in the world.

I hadn't heard of it either before a co-worker suggested I do it. We have formed a small "team"-- we have 5 people on our team-- ideally we all go together and help each other finish. It isn't a race but more of a camaraderie event with the funds going to the Wounded Warrior Project. My dh was sold when I told him you get a beer at the end. You can also get a tattoo if you want! I don't think I'll do the tattoo but you never know!:dizzy:

Sheesh Saturday = 2160

12000
-1977.3
-1264.7
-1619
-1448.8
-1762.9
-1712.5
-2160
=52 I didn't mean to go that far overboard but we went out to dinner. OMG this is shy we don't do that.

Michele, good luck on the Tough Mudder ! I will be with you in spirit. A worthy project , I hope they raise a lot of money.

Michele, I already know you are one tough mudder, but it's events like this, when we get to try something new that calls on our training, that show us how far we've really come. I think you may surprise yourself and you are going to get comments from people that will give you a warm feeling & a sense of pride.

The day after my high weigh-in, I'm back down, even though my feet swelled up yesterday from walking around the city for a good part of the day in ill-fitting shoes. Really, I know better. My one rule regarding attire in the city is that one MUST pay attention to one's shoes. No big puffy white sneakers -- those are beyond the pale -- but anything else that is slim, dark, fairly stylish and above all, comfortable is the right choice. I made the wrong choice.

About the swollen legs and feet, I am starting to wonder if the stuff I ingest is only one part of the equation, and if the other part is the hours & hours I spend on my job seated in front of my laptop, puzzling over analysts' writing. My new desk, an early 19th century butler's desk, would work just as well standing, so I may think about standing intervals. And also, now my feet dangle, because my chair is jacked up high to reach this work surface, so I need some kind of foot-rest underneath them.

Saef-- dangling feet sound like a bad idea-- poor circulation??? Try something underneath and see if that helps. Hope your tootsies feel better today!

Anyone else's weight get "stuck"? Mine seems to do that often. I've been "stuck" at 124.6 for days. Yesterday I ate like a saint, did a 60 minute boot camp and a 90 minute bikram yoga class. Was hoping for a whoosh but nope. Today's plan is a zumba class and more bikram yoga-- it's gotta move eventually. It's like my body knows my "red line" is 125 and it is sticking its tongue out at me.

I'm getting used to being an empty nester I think. I miss dd but she is definitely making friends now. Yesterday was their first football game and I haven't heard how it went but she was excited to go! Dh being gone overseas is allowing me to focus on my food, exercise, and stuff I need to get done around the house. It's funny how busy I can make myself. I need to make a Costco run but I'm not sure if I can fit it in today-- wonder if they're open tomorrow?

I'm also surprised more classes aren't cancelled at the gym tomorrow. Really-- who is going to be going to Body Pump at 4:30 on Labor Day besides me? I may be getting a private class!

Our gym has canceled all classes tomorrow but it's open. It will be opening two hours later than usual on a regular Monday and closing three hours earlier.

Michele, last time I experienced what you mentioned, I found out it wasn't me, it was my scale. My scale will give the same weight it gave the day before if the change is just .1 pound - .3 pounds. I have to reset it to see my true weight. You'll laugh, but the way I do this is to hold plank pose with my hands on the scale, making it register something around 90 pounds. Then, if I get on it again, I get a real weight rather than what it gave me the day before.

After reading the directions for my scale I discovered it has memory. When you step on it the first thing in AM it will show the weight from yesterday or the last time I weighed. If I don't get off but just stand there for a second or so the new true weight will show,

VICTORY. My weight was 1/2 pound less this morning than when I left for CA.

My scale's favorite trick is to show me 2 different weights when I stand on the scale twice in quick succession, and then always opt for the higher weight when I recheck it 3 more times. I don't understand how this happens (and I don't usually stand on the scale twice; only if the first reading is different from the day before by more than ~1.5 pounds). It's not just me- the same thing happens to DH. I don't understand it.

I get no tricks from my scale. I can weight myself 10 times in succession and get the same answer each time.

Tough day on calories yesterday. I'm not sure yet where I came in. BFF from SLC came for dinner and we ended up ordering pizza. It was good pizza--very thin crust with mushrooms, artichokes a little sausage. But the slices were huge--well the pizzas were huge. I'll calculate later.

I shouldn't have complained about being stuck at 124.6. Today I'm 125.2. Sigh.

My computer isn't getting Internet this morning. I have no idea why as my iPad is. Double sigh.

I'm really glad to be back and controlling my own food. No matter how carefully I scanned the menus I still got too many carbs last week. And they don't really "do" salad well at all in smaller places. Still only 2 lbs. damage is not bad.

DH is again making noises about shaping up - long story - so I'm taking him on a long walk tonite. Tomorrow nite I will encourage him to go again. I saw an ad for an interesting Bowflex combo stepper, treadmill, and elliptical on TV but I'm really hesitant to purchase anything like that (even used which is the way I'd have to go). DH has a history of using these things for 2-3 weeks and then tapering off. I have no need of one.

Good walking shoes (which I did buy him last spring) are a much cheaper alternative and he has used those. I just have to keep at him to turn off the TV and go walk instead.

I have major stress coming up this weekend but will eat on plan until then.

Dagmar :dizzy:

There is a really good restorative yoga pose if your feet are swollen.

http://www.restorativeyogaposes.com/...s-up-the-wall/

I love to do this after work for about 20 minutes.

Dagmar :yoga:

Dagmar, thanks for the reminder. You know, I learned this pose when I was taking yoga Upstate last fall. I also learned to do shoulder stands, a major triumph, as I could not do them at all a year ago. Now I know that I need to use it.

I'm back from a one-night treat to myself at a Hyatt in Connecticut. This place is where my company puts up visitors and employees from away. I have gotten some of the best sleep of my life in their atrium-facing rooms. They have a gorgeous gym, a breakfast buffet with plain oatmeal, custom-made omelets (mine was all whites, all veggies, no cheese) and yogurt & fruit, and some kind of pervasive scent throughout the place which smells like rosemary and something else I can't identify. All I did there was read a Hilary Mantel novel in bed and have a wonderful sleep, ate, then used the gym and swam. I will do this again sometime. I have no idea what my weight is, but I feel pretty good today now that I am back in the apartment. I'm roasting veggies for the week to come. I'll check on the scale tomorrow.

Okay, so Dagmar, I tried the inversion pose just before going to bed last night, and was surprised at how well it worked.

And in the morning, an alternative explanation for all the fluid retention in my legs: Yes, I got my period again, after skipping it for four months.

Suffice it to say that the food choices I made this weekend were horrible and I'm paying the price for it this morning. I still have not begun to tally it all up but I know it's not going to look good.

Allison, I didn't even dare a weigh-in today, since I felt so unhappy and low-spirited and seeing that I had my period was enough to tell me it wasn't going to be good.

So you're not alone in your temporary scale-shirking.

I did weigh but wasn't happy with the results.

My weight was actually down a bit today-- 124 from 125.2 yesterday. Considering all of the exercise and sweating I did, I'm not surprised.

But I did look back at my journal where I track my weight. I was wondering the last time I was under 120 which is where I prefer to be. One day in May I was 119 and then almost all of April I was under. Not since. So.... I'm trying to evaluate why that is. Dd graduated in June and we had lots of events leading up to that and a lot of travel this summer. I also quit working for Weight Watchers in May. Hmmmm.... maybe not as diligent? I had been (mostly) staying under 120 for at least a year or two so this bump up is relatively recent but seems to have "stuck". I have to decide if I care enough to try to shake it up as that probably means less food for me. I'm already getting tons of exercise so that isn't the issue.

I went back and figured calories as best as possible. It's a lot worse than I expected so the figure on the scale is right. ((sigh)) Three day weekends where we 1) go out to dinner, 2) have friends over for dinner, 3) go out for lunch (everyday) and 4) go to a holiday barbeque DO not bide well for dieting. I don't even think that keeping it at 1200 a day for the rest of the week will get me under 12,000 for the week.

Allison, I don't think I'm going to make it either. I ate some stuff over the weekend that I don't even know how to start tallying. 149.5 as a result. I think what I'm going to do is wipe the slate clean, and target 1500 per day through Friday ... and press the reset button on the 12000 on Saturday morning.

saef, perhaps the next one will be six months out? Good to know that there's a tool in the yoga box for swollen legs - I bookmarked the link. Thanks, Dagmar!

michele, your situation is the one that scares me. You and saef work so hard and are so strong ... if life were fair, you should be able to eat like teenagers. I wonder sometimes if I resist adding in significant exercise because then cutting calories won't work - it's twisted logic, I know. Maybe stress is playing a big part for you?

But it is partially vanity for me. I could weigh 135 and be a perfectly healthy BMI. That was my original goal but since I was able to go lower, I've wanted to stay at that lower weight. I didn't exercise much for the beginning of my weight loss journey-- the first 25 pounds or so. I do exercise most days but I do what I enjoy-- many days it is a dance class-- so I don't consider it too awful.

Yes, it would be nice to eat whatever I want without gaining. Sadly that isn't the reality and never has been for me. I was a heavy child, a heavy teenager and a heavy adult. I'm bound and determined not to be heavy again.

Michele - I stayed in the same range you are in for a while and I loved it, then I added some muscle weight, so I was able to be as high as 132 and still be in my size 4 clothes and look slim. Where I am now isn't a happy place. I know I've slacked off on exercise the last few months, but my diet hasn't been horribly different. I'm pretty down on myself over it.

Saef - that inversion pose is wonderful. Glad you enjoyed your hotel break! That sounds lovely.

Allison - my three day weekend was hard, too.

Dagmar - welcome back!

Andrea - I struggle with the 'eat this, not that' but do pretty well with only eating half and boxing up the rest for home. I don't feel as cheated that way.

:wave: to everyone else!

Weight up this morning - forgot to weigh, I can just feel it.

Sheesh...

12000
-3158.4 Saturday
-1847.8 Sunday
-1512.9 Monday
=5480.9 (which equates to about 1300 per day for the rest of the week.)